Frederick vs. Poe one of the most intriguing matchups Sunday

Cowboys rookie center Travis Frederick faces a tough challenge Sunday against a Chiefs defense known for using multiple looks and a nose tackle in Dontari Poe that outweighs him by 30 pounds.

The Chiefs made Poe, a 6-foot-3, 346-pound Memphis-ex, the 11th overall pick of the 2012 draft. The Cowboys selected the 6-foot-3, 317-pound Frederick 31st overall out of Wisconsin in April.

“It’s a good matchup,” Cowboys Jason Garrett said Friday in Irving. “Poe is a very good player. We studied him a lot coming out of school. He’s a big, explosive guy, a very good athlete for his size. When he plays hard, plays the right way, he can be disruptive in there.

“But we like what Travis has done so far for us. He’s a smart player, he’s a strong player and he plays with confidence for a young guy.”

After a disappointing rookie season in which he finished with just 38 tackles and no sacks, Poe was dominant in the Chiefs’ 28-2 win over Jacksonville last week. He batted down a pass in the first quarter before logging 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits and six tackles.

The secret to Poe’s success? He said he lost 15 pounds in the offseason by staying away from Kansas City barbeque, according to the Kansas City Star.

“Still not touching it,” he told the newspaper. “It’s not as hard as you think.”

Poe shot up draft boards with an impressive showing at the NFL scouting combine that included bench-pressing 225 pounds a position-best 44 times and running the 40-yard dash in 4.98 seconds.

But it wasn’t until last Sunday that he finally took over.

“Everybody saw it,” Chiefs defensive end Mike Catapano told the Star. “He’s a dominant player in every facet of the game. He’s big, he’s hard to control, he’s got pass-rush ability. And the best part of him is he’s got a tremendous, tremendous motor. He’s running around all the time, covering the whole field. For a 340-pound guy to do that, that’s pretty scary.”